Category Archives: Events

St. Patrick’s Day really is a drinking holiday. While some people are amateurs when it comes to celebrating, Nick Drinks can help you find the tastiest drink for home or the the best event for the educated individual. WXYZ Appearance on 3/10/18 Drinking at Home Traditional Irish Coffee Traditional Irish Coffee – 1/2 oz Demerara […]

Still haven’t made your Valentine’s Day plans and looking for something with a boozy spin? Check out the Nick Drinks round-up of events both downtown and in the burbs. There are dessert charcuterie plates, two spirits releases and one secret dinner. In the City: Briggs Detroit – 2nd Annual Single Forever Celebrate your bachelorhood or […]

The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) is the biggest trade show to happen in Metro Detroit and is a great showcase for our city. While most years it is bitter cold, the warm interior of the Cobo Center shows off the craftsmanship of the Motor City. Hundreds of new and concept cars grace brilliantly […]

In it’s 4th year, the Detroit Cocktail Classic is aggressively fighting for the title of best cocktail event in Detroit. This year it is going from one main event to 17 supporting events plus the Grand Tasting. Even the tasting is going from one shed at Eastern Market to two. I’ll be attending a number […]

Everyone knows the best character in Star Wars was Lando Calrissian played by the legendary Billy Dee Williams. But the babies of the group might not know that Billy was also the front man for Colt 45 in the 80s. To continue our celebration of Star Wars Week, I present the Cloud City Admin. Cloud […]

Repeal Day is the celebration of the repeal of Prohibition. It’s probably the biggest holiday for bartenders and every year gets a bit bigger around the US. Detroit has four parties going on and another in Grand Rapids. I’m sure there are other events happening so please shoot me an email if you know of […]

Today is National Harvey Wallbanger Day. This is the most famous cocktail that includes the classic Italian liqueur Galliano. I had a chat with Anthony Pullen who is the Brand Development and Education Manager for Lucas Bols USA. It is his job to increase the awareness of Galliano and share how to use it in […]

Detroit Cocktail Classic is back for year two this Saturday Night at 7p and in the same location – The Garden Theater. If you attended last year, you will remember the incredible cocktail offerings and diversity of bars. As Detroit continues to expand it’s list of amazing restaurants, this event has done the same. Here […]

This Sunday (9/27/15) is the final Bar Fight of the year. There have been 5 previous competitions and the winners of each will assemble to find the ultimate champion. I participated in Bar Fight 5 in August and didn’t make it to the second round. That being said, I present my learnings to the world on […]

I’m really excited that the Grand Rapids Public Museum is getting the American Spirits Exhibit. The event has a members sneak peek on Friday (9/25/15) with a public opening the next day. It will be open from then until 1/17/2016. The bonus of this is it will be in town for prohibition day (12/5/15) and […]

On 9/13/15, Detroit held witness to their first ever Gatsby Lawn Party. That is, at least since the 1920s. The event was the brain child of Alison Chevalier, a Detroit native, who spent some time in NYC and learned about similar parties there. Wanting to bring that to Detroit’s Palmer Park, she set forth to […]

The 18th Amendment went into effect in January 1920 which outlawed the manufacture, transportation and sale of alcohol but was thankfully appealed in 1933 but we all know that. The epic novel, The Great Gatsby, takes place during this era. A time where booze still flowed but you had to be in the know to […]

Holy crap! It’s been 3 years of Whiskey Rebellion. This year sounds like the best one yet since it will be hosted at the not even opened yet, Chartreuse Kitchen tonight. The event features whiskey cocktails and craft beer with amazing live music and great food. It starts at 6p and goes until 2a. The event […]

Do you think all the good cocktail bars are in Detroit, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids? You would be wrong. Michigan has an incredible insurgence of amazing cocktail talent and the Lansing area is no stranger to this. It’s been a long time since I have had a serious cocktail “research” night near the capital. […]

I was lucky enough last Monday to present two drinks at the Greater Detroit USBG’s Inaugural Ball. I selected Brown-Forman which is most well-known for Jack Daniels but also has such brands as Old Forester, Herradura Tequila, Finlandia Vodka, Korbel, and many more. Tom, our local B-F rep, was super helpful and bent over backwards […]

Are you sitting around your house wondering why everyone is making snarky comments about seeing you next year? It’s New Years Eve!! One of the many amazing holidays that feature imbibing on your favorite cocktail and maybe even some champagne. No worries if you haven’t made plans yet. You still have a few hours. A […]

If you haven’t checked out The Bird & The Bread and are a fan of quality adult beverages, you don’t know what you are missing. I had a chance to sit down with owner Kristin Jonna to chat about her up-coming Dark Horse Brewery Tap Takeover. The event is titled – ‘Earn Your Beard‘. As […]

Have you visited all of the following cocktail joints; Firebird Tavern, Two James Spirits, Public House, Great Lakes Coffee, Craft Work, Roast, The Oakland, Joe Muer Seafood & Rock City Eatery? Odds are good you haven’t made it to some or all of them yet. What if you could sample drinks from them and others in […]

Being part of the US Bartender’s Guild has some great perks (sshhhh, you don’t have to be a bartender.) One of them is invites to special events. Patrón is launch a new line of tequilas called Roca Patrón. It’s smaller batch and more artisan in nature. I haven’t seen the product in stores but it is […]

This weekend was one of my favorite weekends in Detroit. It was Maker Faire. Being the fifth year, I wanted to do something cool. I opted-out of last year and felt a bit left out. So I build one project and did a presentation on Geeky Booze. The presentation can be found here. […]